Titan Books: The Simon and Kirby Library – Horror

The Simon and Kirby Library – Horror

Joe Simon & Jack Kirby

Hardback

 320pp

Dimensions: 282 x 190mm

Publication date: 7 March 2014

ISBN: 9781848569591

£35.00 UK   $49.95 US  $57.00 CAN


From the Golden Age of the comic book era comes an unrivalled collection of terrifying tales that thrilled readers and appalled a nation! For the first time, all of the stories written and drawn by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby themselves, as well as a selection of rarely seen collaborations, are collected in one huge hardcover edition.

Now, I did review the other book from this series –Science Fiction- but for the life of me I cannot find the link! Not even sure how long ago that review was posted so you’ll either have to search or take my word on it!

Anyway, the reproduction for these Simon & Kirby library collections is superb. I’ve not seen the Crime volume but no doubt it is just as good.  Now, horror comics I love so when this arrived I got so excited I think I wet myself (at my age its hard to tell).

Now you may say “I can get these as scans online” but you will find some VERY hard to find and if you do the quality is blech. And look at the strip titles –“Lone Shark” (this is a weird one), “Slaughter House!”, the marvellous “The Head Of The Family”!  “The Cat People”, “Maniac!”  “A Beast In The Streets!” and, one of my favourites –“Hungry As A Wolf!” (and no DuranDuran in sight).

And Kirby drew really great looking “vamps” and women. Oy, and page 207 (“The Sting Of Scorpio”) –one blonde and one brunette in bed together (innocently of course): ”That night I was awakened by a persistent and violent motion that almost threw me to the floor! As I turned to investigate, Joan Brown suddenly sat up and screamed…”  Ahh, I could have made a lot of that in the old Eros Comix days!

The book is just a massive treat and pure nostalgia and fun.  And when you see some of the splash pages –“The Angel Of Death” is one in particular- you realise just how good Simon & Kirby were.

This really HAS to be a must buy for comickers and definitely for comic and horror fans.  There is so much in this book and a lot of it looks fresh and new and wannabe comic artists could learn a lot from this.

I’ll give the book 15 out of 10…because its my blog!